News Broadcasting
I&B looking at legal options, studying status abroad of ads on pay channels
NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: The government today sent out a clear warning that it was willing to u se all in its powers to go after “defiant” pay broadcasters who continued to “thwart” its attempts to introduce a conditional access system in the country.
Information and broadcasting minister ravi Shankar Prasad, expressing his “disappointment” at the stances taken by the likes of Star India and Sony Entertainment, said the government was well aware of its legal rights in such a case and if the broadcasters did not change their stances and become more “consumer-friendly”, it would take suitable measures.
Prasad also said he had directed his officials to study media laws in other countries to verify what is the status of pay channels vis-a-vis advertisements. Though the minister did not spell out what action was being contemplated, the warning was obvious: toe the line or else…
Meanwhile, the fallout of yesterday’s “fiasco” of a meeting on pay channel pricing was also felt in the corridors of power in the capital.
I&B ministry secretary Pawan Chopra was called to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today by principal secretary to the PM Brajesh Misra for an update on the vexed issue. It is learnt that the PMO’s office instructed Chopra to ensure “that the price line be guarded” at all costs. Chopra was closetted with Prasad for over three hours after that debating what was to be done.
In the event that errant pay channels do not indicate individual channel prices that are “consumer friendly”, the ministry is reportedly considering invoking Clause 12 of its CAS notification which will mean that post-14 July, these channels need not be carried by the cable service provider.
And what of the pricing paper that was circulated yesterday? As far as the government is concerned, it has rejected it outright as not being serious in intent. And since it is an unsigned paper, it has no legal tender either is the government’s contention.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
